Arizona Basketball played its first-ever game in Big 12 play on Monday, hosting TCU. It was a game that turned into a shootout, with the Wildcats holding on for the 90-81 win. It was a historic performance led by Caleb Love, who produced 33 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists in 38 minutes while not turning it over a single time.
That was the good news from the game. The bad news was that Coach Tommy Lloyd confirmed that center Motiejus Krivas won’t be returning for the rest of this season due to a leg injury he’s been dealing with since the preseason. The 7’2 big man played eight games this season, averaging 7.9 ppg and 4.5 rpg.
Tommy Lloyd confirms that Motiejus Krivas is out for the season.
— Jason Scheer (@jasonscheer) December 31, 2024
Entering the year, Krivas was a near-consensus breakout candidate to watch as someone who impressed in limited minutes before Oumar Ballo in the frontcourt. But we never got the chance to see him fully healthy. It’s a loss for Arizona, which has been relying on the transfer frontcourt duo of Tobe Awaka and Trey Townsend. They’ve been solid but by no means stars, combining for 17 points and seven rebounds as starters versus TCU.
The big man who did have a nice game Monday night was Henri Veesaar, who produced 15 points, six rebounds, and four assists in 18 minutes off the bench. He’s a 7’0 skilled forward in his own right, but against good teams this season, he struggled a lot.
If this game was his breakthrough performance, Veesaar having an expanded role would be a welcomed development for the Wildcats. They can’t rely on Love having efficient big games all the time, and of the available bigs, the sophomore forward has the highest ceiling in terms of talent.
Losing Krivas and his potential is a blow for Arizona Basketball, who has work to do to get to the NCAA Tournament. But there’s enough talent left to make some noise in the Big 12, with Monday getting them off to the right start.